


Upon These Golden Shores

by tanktrilby



Category: Free!
Genre: Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Slice of Life, Supernatural Elements, Youkai, influenced heavily by Natsume Yuujinchou, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-21 03:18:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1535600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tanktrilby/pseuds/tanktrilby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nanase Haruka has been plagued all his life by <i>youkai</i>: mysterious spirit-monsters that only Haruka can see. But now Haru's found a home in Iwatobi, where the people are happy and kind; and now that he's reconciled with Rin, everything seems to have taken a turn for the better. Of course, that still means that Haruka has to deal with the consequences when his two worlds collide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Upon These Golden Shores

Haruka is adding carrots to his stir-fry -which is still mackerel-based, no matter _how_ many times he gets threatened he’ll turn into a fish if he keeps eating the damn stuff- when he hears the giggling.

He pushes the rest of the vegetables into the pan with three unhurried sweeps of his knife. Briefly, reflexively, he leans back to glance into the living room. There’s no one there; well, no one except Makoto, who’s sunbathing blissfully, his tail swishing a little, so Haruka pays it no mind. It’s his imagination, he tells himself- he’d been forced to listen to Nagisa and Rin’s prattle for over an hour and he can still hear their conversation ringing in his ears, Nagisa’s chirp and Rin’s responding drawl (“Noooo, Rin-chan shouldn’t cut his hair, it’s so pretty the way it is now!”, “It’s getting in my eyes when I’m in the water, do you want me to drown?”, “No way, Rin-chan is a mighty, mighty shark, he’s going to break the water’s neck if it tries anything, right, Haru-chan...”)  

Haruka pushes the stir-fry around the pan with his chopsticks, moody and a little miffed. He’d figured, after that relay and reconciling with Rin, that Rin being friends with Nagisa again could only be a good thing. He hadn’t accounted for the way they’d begun talking his ear off, while Makoto padded alongside them all, shooting Haru knowing looks when the others weren’t looking. He’s begun to miss the periods of crackling tension when Rin would just silently glare at him across the natatorium.

Now, he has the silence of the empty house to enjoy, and the prospect of mackerel to comfort him, and a bath after. It’s shaping up to be a thoroughly satisfactory night, and Haru would be totally content, if only…

Haru accidentally stabs a piece of mackerel, and glowers fiercely at it.

Of course, Nagisa had invited them both to dinner after practice, and _of course_ Rin had chosen that moment to get that wary, shadowed look in his eyes. It was one of the things about this new Rin (that still cried and raged and laughed like the old Rin, and still made Haru do ridiculous, amazing things that he never would have considered doing otherwise)  that Haruka had instantly hated; Rin was supposed to be a open book. An annoying open book, yes, but an open book nonetheless.

Rin had flicked a glance at Haruka, and said, with a false, false laugh, “Yeah, I don’t think Haru’d enjoy that much. See you guys on Saturday?”

Haru tosses the frying pan once, and adds a little more soy sauce. He bends down to sniff it, assessing, when he hears it again: a giggle, accompanied by something that sounds like the tinkling of a bell.

He looks around, startled, but there’s still no one there, human or youkai. Just the orderly, neat layout of his living room, the tatami mats and table and a row of pictures on the mantelpiece that’s slowly filling up with photographs Haru actually wants to keep. And covering that minimalistic tidiness is the chaos that Rin brings with him; textbooks tossed haphazardly across the tables, magazines and diet plans and takeout menus; Rin’s jacket, which he _still_ drapes across the ancient TV when he visits no matter how many times Haru glares at him when he does it. Seeing it makes something weird happen in Haru’s chest; a sharp tug, like a bike ride down a steep slope.

Haru huffs, and turns back to his mackerel. It’s not like he _wants_ to have dinner with that embarrassing idiot. 

Mackerel, he repeats to himself, and a long, quiet soak afterwards. Exactly as he’d wanted all along.

 He sets down a plate with a thud, and slides his dinner into it, and the rest into Makoto’s bowl. Briefly, he considers waking Makoto up, but Makoto has recently picked up a way to make his cat form look as gently accusatory as possible, and Haru doesn’t need to that spoiling his mackerel.

Mumbling under his breath -dealing with humans was bad enough, but add youkai to the mix and everything became so _troublesome_ \- Haruka sits down at the kitchen table, and picks up his chopsticks, when--- “Ooh, he’s going to eat!”

Haruka takes a measured bite. Being able to interact with the world of youkai means that disembodied voices aren’t too unusual, in the long run; whoever they were, they couldn’t have broken in through Makoto’s wards, so Haru figures he’s in the clear.

That is, until: “I hope Nanase-sama likes the oborosou we added!”

Haruka spits out his mouthful with a garbled swear, and upturns his chair as he makes a dash for the tap. He rinses and rinses and finally spits into the sink, inspecting the water that goes down the drain suspiciously.

Finally, he wipes his hands dry on a towel. The youkai have begun making little squeaks of dismay, and Haruka counts two, three voices before he turns around and says, evenly, “Show yourselves.”

Nothing happens. He can sense their hesitation. He rolls his eyes, going over to the window and reaching out, his hand coming into contact with something rough and ungiving, like a hide.

A cyclops stumbles into view as he tugs, his eye going comically wide before he kneels down. An ayokashi who has the head of a bull kneels with him, and Haru eyes them both.

“Nanase-sama!” they singsong. “We have traveled here from the forests to gaze upon your-“

“Where’s the other one?” Haruka interjects.

On cue, a bell tinkles. Haru’s bangs lift off his face as a great gust sweeps through the house; distantly, he can hear Makoto make a protest in his sleep.

An ayakashi towers above the all, blocking out the sun. It’s at least five times Haru’s height; across, it’s about the size of a block of houses. It’s got long, trailing silver hair, and a row of bells attached to one truck-sized ear.

It could squash Haruka, and probably not even notice.

“Nanase-dono,” it rumbles, and the earth shakes. “I would have entered, but Makoto has set up wards that are difficult to break through for even an ayakashi of my power. He is a fine servant.”

“He’s not my-“

“Haru-chan,” says a voice sleepily. “What’s going-“

Haru turns around, right in time to see all of Makoto’s fur stand on end. He hisses, and runs behind Haruka’s leg at full tilt, his tail fluffing defensively.

The cyclops and bull are staring at them both. “…Makoto-sama?” they say uncertainly.

Haruka can feel Makoto tremble behind him. _“Scary,”_ he squeaks.

Haru sighs.

“I have not seen you in some time, Makoto,” the massive ayakashi thunders. “That is indeed a unique form you’ve taken for yourself.”

Big green eyes peer around Haru’s leg uncertainly. “Misuzu? Is that you?”

“Of course,” the ayakashi straightens, and that makes him _even taller._ “I am surprised, Makoto, that one of your stature-“

“He was sealed in this form,” Haruka interrupts, suddenly exhausted. The cyclops and the bull gasp, but he forges on, “What do you want?”

The ayakashi named Misuzu leans down, down, down to fix one blood-red eye on Haruka. Haruka doesn’t flinch.

Finally, it inclines its head, puffing an exhale that makes Haru’s clothes and hair fly once more. Haru doesn’t let his expression change. “Very well,” it says, in its voice like a thundercloud. “Nanase-sama, I am the ayakashi they call Misuzu. I am a forest guardian.”

Haru nods, acknowledging, respectful. With a small hop and a brief scramble, Makoto perches on his shoulder, his green eyes steady.

Misuzu regards them both, taking his time. Haruka waits. Makoto’s claws dig reassuringly into his shoulder.

“I believe, Nanase-sama, as a child of man possessing the great spiritual energy you are famed in our world for, you are the only being able to get rid of the affliction-“

The door bell cuts him off. He doesn’t seem to notice, rumbling on, but both Makoto and Haruka’s attention is diverted, knowing that-

“ _Haru_! Open the damn door for once, you lazy asshole!”

The bull and the cyclops exchange glances, but Haru’s already pushed into action. Instinct and instant, flooding panic nearly cripples him, so he’s barely able to hiss, “ _Get out.”_

Rin is shouting, “I swear, if you’re leaving me out here ‘cause you’re taking another fucking bath, I will fuck your shit up, Haru, _answer the door!”_

Haruka shifts his position a little, breath quickening. Makoto jumps to the floor beside him, ready to fight if need be, because Makoto knows, completely _knows_ that _Rin isn’t part of this, Rin isn’t getting involved, save him, protect him, Rin,_ he isn’t letting the poison of the youkai world touch Rin no matter what it takes. Rin, his first and best human friend, Rin who believed him and believed in him when Haruka was so close to the edge, so weary and bitter and alone, _Rin_ …

“Get out,” he snarls again to the shocked-looking youkai. He adds, through clenched teeth, “ _Now_.”

Makoto bumps against his leg warningly. _This isn’t a good idea_ , he’s saying. Misuzu was powerful enough for him to be a threat, even to them. _We could get killed._

Haruka has never cared less about anything in his entire life.

“Nanase-dono,” Misuzu thunders. “You have-“

“My apologies,” Haru grits out. He even manages a choppy bow, like a puppet with a drunken puppeteer. “But you really have to leave.”

Finally -with the banging on the door and Rin’s insults getting louder with each passing second, making Haru’s panic grow- the creature says, thoughtfully, “Very well. We shall revisit you at another time, Nanase-dono. In the meantime, I suggest you take care of your dealings with the human world for the time being.”

With that, he vanishes, leaving nothing more than a trail of smoke and the tinkling of bells lingering in their ears. Haruka cuts a glare in the other youkais’ direction, and they scramble into action, running in confused circles before falling out of the window they came from.

The house is empty once more. Haruka’s shoulders sag with relief.

Makoto says, teasingly, “I’m glad Haru-chan’s found someone who’s important enough to kick powerful ayakashi out of the house for.”

“You’re an ayakashi too, you know,” Haru grumbles warningly.

Makoto’s tail swishes happily nonetheless.

His feet feel heavy as he makes his way to the door. Dealing with youkai always drained him more than he liked to let on, now that he had Makoto to worry about that sort of thing. And dealing with Rin was…

“Who the fuck are you talking to, anyway?” Rin is shouting. This is another reason Haru appreciates the no-neighbors thing. Rin has a tendency to monologue in a loud voice, which would have been about as appealing as Haru’s own tendency to pick fights with invisible creatures, to anyone living next door. “Are you talking to your toaster again? Man, that is fucked up. And don’t tell me you’re talking to your goddamn cat, Haru, that doesn’t count either.”

Haru turns to look at Makoto smugly before opening the door. Makoto looks a little offended, but greets Rin more warmly than Haru does, anyway.

Haru doesn’t greet Rin so much as demand, “What?”

He’s still edgy. The hints of the youkai’s presence still lingers, and it makes him uneasy. And Rin is looking windswept, wine-colored hair floating around his face, about to step inside and continue ranting, so Haru shifts, blocking his way. _At another time,_ Misuzu had said, which means that Haru’s guard has to be up constantly, because _this_ careless idiot might stumble in and put himself in danger.

“You dick,” Rin says, hitting Haru on the face with the door he’s about to slam shut, knocking the wind out of Haru. “You make me stand out here to talk to your fucking cat, and now you’re not letting me in? Japanese hospitality, my ass.”

Haru stumbles back, his eyes scanning the room frantically. He throws a glance at Makoto, who looks amused but nods in understanding. Haruka’s knees go weak with gratitude when he watches Makoto go outside, hears the miniature whirlwind of his transformation into spirit form.

Haruka sits down heavily. Makoto is guarding them, guarding Rin. It would be fine.

“Hey,” says Rin, and then, cherry-colored eyes are looking carefully into Haru’s own. “You aren’t coming down with something, are you? That would be lame.”

Haru narrows his eyes in an unspoken threat, but Rin laughs and presses his hand on Haru’s forehead anyway.

The laughter dies down abruptly. Haru raises his gaze, tired; _what now?_

“Haru, shit,” Rin mutters. “You’re burning up. I _told_ you swimming in the ocean was a bad idea. C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

Rin’s hand comes to his arm, no hesitation, and begins to manhandle Haru to his feet. Haruka gulps in a breath, suddenly dizzy.

Rin’s eyes have no hint of shadow anywhere near them when he says, “Oi, Haru. You sure you can-“

And then they go wide as Haruka plummets towards the hardwood floor, and Rin barely manages to catch him before he falls. “Fuck, Haru.”

Haruka grunts, and feels utterly ridiculous, but he blacks out anyway.

*

 Makoto is perched on his chest when he wakes up. “Rin,” Haruka says immediately, sitting up so fast he Makoto falls over with a surprised meow.

Before Makoto can say anything, Rin himself bursts in. He’s wearing a black tank top and a pair of sweatpants Haru recognizes as one of his own, and his eyes are bright with indignation. “You moron, why didn’t you tell anyone you were sick? We let you swim, it probably made it worse. And don’t think I didn’t see all that mackerel in the fridge, no wonder your immune system is for shit. I had to walk all the way to the supermarket to buy you shit to make a decent soup, and even-”

“You made soup?”

“It was delicious,” Makoto purrs.

Haruka glares at him accusingly.

Rin huffs, and looks away. “Look, you need to get better, and mackerel ain’t gonna cut it.” His cheeks are dusted with a light pink.

Haruka stares at him.

Rin blinks rapidly, tucking a strand of red hair behind his ear uncertainly. He looks at Makoto for help; Makoto sighs, and somehow manages a cat-like nod in the direction of the kitchen.

Rin blinks some more. “Nanase, I will never get over how fucking weird it is that your cat talks to me more than you do.”

Haruka crosses his arms. At the same time, his stomach rumbles, making Rin’s eyes -finally- widen in understanding. “I’m not your fucking waiter,” he grumbles, but moves towards the kitchen anyway.

Haru turns back to his pillow, smug, when Rin says, “Oi.”

Rin is lingering in the doorway, rubbing the back of his neck in a familiar nervous gesture. His eyes are a sharp, dramatic red, and in the slanted light, Haru can make out the ocean-deep concern there, written as clearly as ink on a blank page.

“You’re…okay, right?” he says. “I mean. You had me worried back there.”

Haruka meets his gaze head-on, and nods carefully.

Some of the tension drains from Rin’s shoulders. “Okay,” he breathes. “That’s good.”

Haru says, as drily as he can make himself sound, “Obviously.”

Rin makes a face. He takes a few quick steps forward, and looks down at Haruka with an unreadable expression, but none of it is veiled, it’s all clearly written in Rin’s expressive eyes and mobile features. Haruka doesn’t know why he’s so intensely grateful for that, but he is.

They stare at each other for a few moments before Rin brings his hand down, and punches Haru’s shoulder, hard enough to actually hurt. Haru flinches. “Ow…” he rubs his shoulder. “What was that for?”

“For not _telling me_ ,” Rin says, in a low voice, “that you were in pain. Moron.”

And he’s gone, in a flash of black and brilliant red. Haruka watches him go, his hand frozen on his shoulder.

Rin is…the last person Haruka wants to be hiding things from. Not these tiny little things that Rin seems to think are important, like relays and fevers and fears. Haruka’s been hiding the big things - _I’m not normal I’m a freak who sees monsters everywhere-_ from so many people for so long, for fear of being cast out completely, for fear of making trouble for the handful of people he does love and who love him, that concealment has become habit, even though he’s never outright lied to Rin. He’s never had anyone yell at him for suffering alone, even if this was just a stupid fever.

 _Alone_ has been the status quo for the longest time. And in barrels Rin, with his ridiculous plans and propositions and tears, and Haruka…isn’t alone any more.

Makoto clears his throat, and Haruka snatches his hand away from his shoulder hastily. He shoots his companion a warning look, but beyond some sparkly eyes, Makoto doesn’t comment on the way Haru had spaced out while looking at the spot he’d seen Rin last.

“So,” Makoto says instead, his tone strangely businesslike, “I think the visiting youkai gave Haru-chan something, through contact, maybe? Because this definitely isn’t a human illness.”

Haruka raises an eyebrow.

“No, no, you’ll get better in two or three days, it’s not that serious.” Makoto’s eyes twinkle again, and Haru thinks about how having a twinkly-eyed cat is normal for him. “Especially with Rin here to make you soup and fuss over you.”

Haruka’s stare intensifies.

Makoto chuckles a little. “If it were serious, I’d be worried, but this isn’t. I don’t think they got you properly. I’ve sent the word out, I’ll track them down just in case. It might be-“

“It was in the mackerel,” Haruka says suddenly. Goddamn youkai. “They mentioned a name. Obo-something.”

“Oborosou?” Makoto asks. His face does something strange, and Haruka realizes that he’s gone pale. “Haru, that’s…are you sure?”

Haru nods. “I spit most of it out,” he adds, a little nervously. 

Makoto sighs in relief. “It’s actually not that bad,” he says with a laugh. “Oborosou is a herb most powerful youkai use for healing from large wounds that cause a lot of blood loss.” He pauses. “And, um. For the old gods, it was used as an aphrodisiac, which I’m assuming is why they added some to your food.”He laughs at the expression on Haru’s face, his whiskers twitching. “On humans, I guess it causes a little bit of a fever and fatigue.”

Haruka’s hand goes to his mouth defensively. “It was _in the mackerel_ ,” he protests.   

Makoto bumps against his side comfortingly. “I’ll tell them the mackerel is off-limits,” he says cajolingly.

Haruka lowers his hand. “When are they coming back?” he asks seriously. He’ll kick Rin out if that’s what it takes when the time comes.

Makoto raises a paw and waves it around. “I’m not sure. The big one, Misuzu, is as patient as any ayakashi, but the way he said it made it sound urgent. So I’m guessing he’ll give Haru-chan about a human week before he shows up.”

Haru bites his lip.

Makoto says, gently, “Don’t worry, Haru. I’ll keep them back if it comes to it, so you can protect Rin.”

“What were they saying was the problem?” Haru asks, hoping to distract him. “Something’s happening in the forest?”

“An affliction, they said. Something about how they said it…it made me think it had something to do with an ayakashi getting unsealed,” Makoto says obligingly.

Haruka flops back down on his pillows. “Troublesome,” he mumbles.

“You might get in trouble, Haru-chan,” Makoto says, peering down at him with luminous green eyes. “And remember not to rush into anything recklessly this time. You have people who care for you, now.”

 Haru grunts, turning his gaze away. _Rin,_ he thinks, the thought bright and comfortable as it sits in his head. And, of course, Makoto, who stands beside him when he gets involved in both worlds.

Rin comes through the door. “Get up, idiot,” he says, setting a tray down on the side of the bed. Something smells delicious.

 _Well_ , Haru thinks, as Rin passes him the soup carefully, holding it with both hands to avoid spilling it, _there’s something to be said for wanting to stay alive because you have somewhere to go back to._

**Author's Note:**

> Rambly notes! Sadly, I won't be updating this as regularly as I'd like, because RL has steamrolled me into compliance, but I love this way too much to give it up, so THERE WILL BE MORE. As probably some of you have guessed, this is heavily influenced by Natsume Yuujinchou, which is the most charming anime ever. Seriously. I was smitten in like three seconds, and that was before the cat had talked. 
> 
> The title for the story is taken from She Talks to Angels, by the Black Crowes.
> 
> This story will use a fair amount of hit-and-run OC's, but only the original Free! anime cast will have major roles. While we're on the subject, this is mostly compliant with the Free! canon. except that Makoto isn't human (he's a BAMF ayakashi trapped in cat form) so that it was pretty much Nagisa, Rin,Haru and some random dude in the whole relay. No Rei, either; I need him for special super-secret purposes coughcough. (he's a youkai! he's a youkai!) 
> 
> Also, this story uses a style I've only just begum to try my hand at, so apologies if it gets on your ti- um, nerves. The original Natsume anime is lovely and shoujo-y, and I've tried to capture that feel here, so the plot will be slow and fraught with emotional awareness. So Haru has a lot of internal monologues, but it will all be very twee and adorable. But I promise there'll be a plot! 
> 
> As for any confusion about the terms I'm using willy-nilly here (in my limited knowledge, the terms youkai and ayakashi are pretty much interchangeable; Wikipedia is yet to tell me I'm wrong) please feel free to ask me what the hell I'm talking about. This is severely unbeta'd, and it'll be some time before I can read this objectively. 
> 
> Apologies for the massive length of this note (I hadn't realized you could get a scrollbar for these things) and thanks for reading! See you next water time!


End file.
